Marks on negatives

[JamesW]

On the last two films that I've developed (on spirals in a tank) a few of the negatives have marks on them - almost like crescent moons, in what appear to be random places.

Does anybody have any ideas what may be causing them? Apart from this, the negatives seem pretty good. They're not drying marks, as the marks seem to be "in" the image rather than "on" the surface, if that makes sense. The only thing that I can think of is that the film got kinked when I loaded it on to the spiral and this effected the development of these areas.

 

[aizan]

yep, you've got the kinks alright. are you using ss reels?

 

[JamesW]

That was quick!

No, I'm using plastic ones from Jessops.

 

[Nick R.]

That sure sounds like kinks. Load a sacrificial roll in the light to see if there's something wrong with your reel.

 

[alansoon]

Definitely kinks. The film is getting pinched somewhere. Does it load smoothly?

 

[Fred]

It certainly sounds like kinks. Make sure that the spirals are completely dry before loading and do not force the fime if its starts to get stuck. Just reload it.

I always load 35mm film from direct from the cartridge to reduce the possibility of kinking the unloaded film. Also it's easier to rewind it if it bunches in the spiral.

 

[JamesW]

So we think it's kinks, then? 😉

The reels were definately dry, but it's possible that the film jammed somewhere. I did have to start reloading the film on to the spiral halfway through, so that maybe what caused it.

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[Fred]

I have a couple of patterson spirals that can get hard to load the last few frames onto for a 36 roll, by tapping the spiral sometimes frees things up a tad or just use shorter spiral twists.

Another thought is to leave the film in the canister for an hour or so after you've rewound it. this sometimes helps also.

Do you use a changing bag? If so these become quite hot and humid inside quite quickly if all does not go to plan, this causes film bunching like a wet spiral does.

Hope this helps.